I have a recipe for liver pate and it calls for 4oz of pork fat. My first thinking was that I will just sub the pork fat for butter when I finally get around to making it. Then the other day I cooked a pork rib roast in the slower cooker and looked at the pile of fat left over after we had eaten all of the meat. In the past I would have thrown it out without even thinking about it. However, if I did that, technically it would be a waste of a food source, considering I would have to buy the butter to make the liver pate recipe anyways. I am still inclined to thinking that butter is a better, or healthier source of fats. But on the other hand if I through out the pork fat (which I did), then aren't I wasting a valuable source of food?

What are other people's thoughts on this? Does it matter where our fat comes from?

I almost always save rendered meat fat to use later. It's as healthy as butter, as both are saturated animal fats. As long as it hasn't been burned (which degrades the fat), I'll use it to cook with. Right now, I have bacon fat, rendered pork fat, and a little bit of rendered beef fat in my fridge. Of course, I grew up saving and cooking with bacon fat, but the others are just as delicious.

I don't buy it, but I've been tempted to buy duck fat from my meat wholesaler. I've been able to talk myself out of it so far, but I don't know for how much longer.

Don't throw it out, use it, and not just in that one recipe! Rub it on roasting chicken, use it for different vegetables (if you eat them), cook your eggs in it, be creative! It's delicious, NOT wasteful, and healthy.

I almost always save rendered meat fat to use later. It's as healthy as butter, as both are saturated animal fats.

And since you've bought the meat anyway, it's "free".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ntombi

I don't buy it, but I've been tempted to buy duck fat from my meat wholesaler. I've been able to talk myself out of it so far, but I don't know for how much longer.

Oh, that sounds good! I didn't know it was possible to buy the fat by itself. Hmmm.... My sister did a french recipe once using duck confit and white beans, and the duck fat made it heavenly. Wonder if its possible to make that low-carb?

I have a recipe for liver pate and it calls for 4oz of pork fat. My first thinking was that I will just sub the pork fat for butter when I finally get around to making it. Then the other day I cooked a pork rib roast in the slower cooker and looked at the pile of fat left over after we had eaten all of the meat. In the past I would have thrown it out without even thinking about it. However, if I did that, technically it would be a waste of a food source, considering I would have to buy the butter to make the liver pate recipe anyways. I am still inclined to thinking that butter is a better, or healthier source of fats. But on the other hand if I through out the pork fat (which I did), then aren't I wasting a valuable source of food?

What are other people's thoughts on this? Does it matter where our fat comes from?

Animal fats do vary in terms of makeup. Butter offers more in some areas like vitamins and cla (particularly when from grass fed).

Chicken fat has a much higher omega 6 ratio as compared to some other animal fats and for that reason, I tend to discard that.

When considering fat from beef, it is important to know that grass fed as opposed to grain fed have a different composition with the grass fed being far superior. For that reason, I treat the fat from the grass fed like gold!

Btw, my liver pate recipe calls for butter and it would not taste as good with another animal fat. They all have different flavours so they are not necessarily interchangeable.

__________________Cathy
Original start - Feb. 2000 180/125

"The energy content of food (calories) matters, but it is less important than the metabolic effect of food on our body." Dr. P. Attia